


he speaks!

by peterandhispirate



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Autism Spectrum, Cuddling & Snuggling, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 14:12:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15632295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peterandhispirate/pseuds/peterandhispirate
Summary: By the end of the day, Josh is nonverbal.





	he speaks!

Working in an animal clinic means there's going to be a lot of noise _all the time_. Josh knew that, obviously. He was a veterinary receptionist. But some days were definitely worse than others.

This was one of those days.

Some woman had brought in a German Shepherd. Usually it was the smaller dogs that gave him the biggest headaches - high-pitched yapping was like needles against his eardrums - but this particular dog had the loudest, deepest bark Josh had heard in his entire life. Each yelp was a thunderclap inside his head.

The thunderstorm lasted about fifteen minutes. Josh felt like there were professional boxers on either side of him, both pummeling his ears at once. By the time the Shepherd was taken to the back, he swore there was blood leaking out of his eardrums, running down his neck and staining the collar of his shirt. The wounds were so fresh and sensitive that every noise, no matter how small (shoes squeaking on linoleum, the buzz of the fluorescent lights) made him flinch.

He had thirty minutes before he could clock out; part of him thought he wouldn't last that long. His brain was ringing. Everything hurt. He wanted _out_.

Against all odds, Josh made it to the end of his shift. One of his coworkers said something to him on his way out, but it didn't register. His subconscious prayed that it wasn't something important like "there's a tornado downtown, so drive safe!"

He drove as safely as one can when blinking back tears and fighting the urge to rip his hands off the wheel to cover his ears. A car honked; he was too busy shaking to figure out if it was meant for him.

Pulling into the parking lot of their apartment complex, Josh fumbled with his seat belt, fingers trembling too much to do their job properly. Eventually he freed himself and abandoned the car, tearing up two flights of stairs and tripping at least twice.

Once he reached the front door (he hoped he was responsive enough to figure out which one was theirs) it was time for Josh to grapple with his keys, trying and failing to unlock it multiple times. Luckily for him, his boyfriend heard the frantic jangling from the inside and opened the door to blink at him, brows furrowed and whisk in hand.

"Josh? You good, baby?"

Josh slipped past him and into the apartment, brain still humming; hypersensitive. He made a beeline for the couch and flopped down, burying his face in a cushion. There was still a sword buried in his head, going in one ear and poking out the other. Yanking it free wasn't an option, so all he could do was wait for it to evaporate.

It fucking sucked.

Tyler had seen Josh like this before - they'd been together a little over a year. The first few months had certainly been a challenge: whenever Josh got too overwhelmed and shut down, Tyler had blamed himself. He was always so convinced that he had done something wrong, but after awhile he figured out that it had nothing to do with him.

"Bad day at the office?" he asked, keeping his voice as soft as he could without whispering. He had joined Josh on the couch; made sure to keep a few inches between them. Sometimes Josh didn't like to be touched when he got too high-strung.

Face still buried in the pillow, Josh let out a muffled noise of distress.

"I'm sorry, baby. I know it hurts."

Another noise, this one more helpless than the last.

"Can I touch you?"

Josh finally lifted his head and sat up a little, blue hair sticking up in a couple places. Cheeks pink and eyes watery, he nodded; once Tyler had the okay he reached out to stroke that messy hair, smoothing down the runaway strands and making Josh sigh and close his eyes.

"Must've been extra loud there today," Tyler said. He brushed one of the flushed cheeks with the back of his hand, impossibly gentle. Josh hummed and leaned into his touch. "Tomorrow won't be as bad. And if it is, I guess I've gotta kick God's ass or something. Anything for you."

Josh's eyes fluttered open. Managing a lopsided smile, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to Tyler's nose. Tyler grinned back and said, "Thanks for that, man."

Josh didn't talk at all during dinner (they had pancakes, by the way. That's what the whisk was for.) Tyler didn't push him, though - never pushed him. He just rambled about stupid shit like time travel, making sure to keep his voice low the entire time. Josh loved hearing him talk about stupid shit. He loved everything about Tyler.

By 9PM they were in bed, Tyler's arms wrapped tight around Josh's middle. It felt good to have someone draped over him. Good pressure. Tyler's face was warm and snug against the back of his neck; that was good, too. The only bad thing was the way his ears still stung - not as much as they did three hours ago, but the pain was definitely lingering there. Despite the ache, he eventually passed out with his and Tyler's legs tangled together.

Ten hours later and Tyler was still snuggled up against him. Josh was the first to stir, blinking awake and gently moving the arm that was slung over him so he could prop himself up on his elbows. Tyler rolled over onto his back, keeping his eyelids squeezed shut.

Josh smiled, sitting all the way up so he could poke his cheek and say, "Morning."

That's when Tyler's eyes popped open. Face lighting up like a pair of Skechers, he grinned so wide that Josh could count his crooked bottom teeth. "Aha! He speaks!"

"He speaks," Josh confirmed before Tyler surged up to pepper his face with kisses, making him snort and blush pink.

Josh loved everything about Tyler. And as far as he could tell, the feeling was mutual.

**Author's Note:**

> i was in the mood to write something short and sweet so here we are


End file.
